Aldby
10 mW
This is my story of a project from last year.
To start with, I have not actually built anything, just added a readily available electric kit to a readily available trike. Non of it is rocket science, but I am very pleased with the result.
My first decision was to buy a trike then source a kit. I read quite a lot about recumbent trikes and decided on a 'tadpole', configuration i.e. 2 wheels in front and one at the rear, this has the obvious advantage of 2 wheel steering . The other option would have been a 'delta', i.e. 2 rear wheels and 1 front wheel, this would have meant either driving both back wheels through a drive shaft or a motorised front wheel doing the steering as well. This just didn't appeal to me and I felt it would have been less stable than a tadpole.
Next, do I buy a used trike or go for new one. Recumbents are not cheap, even second hand. I eventually chose a T W Bents Artifice model, a steel framed tadpole made in Taiwan http://www.twbents.com.tw/HTM/artifice.htm. A top quality trike from I.C.E. or HP Velotechnik could have easily cost double and more than the whole project. I set myself a budget which I have managed to keep to, the Artifice cost £1150 and that was a special deal with http://www.buybuybicycles.com/recumbent_trikes.html, thanks for your help Zena. Originally I wanted a yellow frame, thank goodness they were out of stock, it would have looked awful with all the black cabling and components.
OK, I assembled the trike from the box of bits in an afternoon, no more difficult than putting Ikea furniture together, thinking about it, the trike was probably easier and whole lot more fun. Then I went for a 10 minute test ride to see if everything worked and parked it in the garage feeling even more excited about the project.
Now more choices to be made, which kit to go for? Bionx was ruled out immediately due to cost and although my PL350 powered MTB was both fast and powerful, I reckon that very expensive 10Ah battery would limit range and there is no way of adding a backup or parallel battery with the Bionx system.
I did consider a direct drive Magic Pie kit by Goldenmotor, but poor reliability and performance meant I wasn't taking that route either.
An 8 Fun Bafang 350w motor was a consideration, but sourcing all the parts proved fruitless and it would not have been possible to fit a 9 speed freewheel along with other considerations.
Finally after much research, I took the Ezee route. I have owned several Ezee bikes and they are hard to beat in my opinion. It had been in my mind all along to choose an Ezee kit, everything about it was just right, a US spec 350 watt 250 RPM rear motor kit built into a 26" wheel with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre and delivering all the torque I would need, the latest Ezee controller, pedelec sensor, Ezee Assist Factor control, a Dual Battery Extension Rack together with an Ezee 8.5Ah LiFePO4 battery, an 11 to 32 tooth 9 speed freewheel sprocket and a Cycle Analyst V2.2.
The support and advice from Wai Won Ching (Chief Ezee Power) was invaluable, a true gentleman, I can't thank him enough for taking the time to respond to a string of emails. Originally, I wanted a throttle, but he advised against it and recommended the EAF instead, how right he was. He also recommended the LiFePO4 battery to run in parallel with my 14Ah, right again.
When I had all the parts, I sat down and planned the installation, the sequence to do it in and position of the components.
First the rear wheel and motor, it fitted first time exactly, no stretching or compressing of the dropouts and very snug tight fit with no filling necessary.
Then came the positioning of the controller and I think I found the right spot as can see (link to photos at the end of this thread), all cables lead to the controller, so it's position is crucial, next was the Cycle Analyst, followed by the EAF and the rear battery rack.
Next I connected all the cables and tied them in place, by the way you can't get the connections wrong as each connecting plug is different, fitted the LiFePO4 battery and the moment of truth had arrived, would it all work?
I could see no reason why not, but I am never 100% sure about anything, pessimists are never disappointed.
Anyhow, I switched the battery on and grinned from ear to ear when the Cycle Analyst lit up and without hesitating jumped on, or rather sat in a went for a spin, my grin got bigger and bigger, it was brilliant after I was sure everything was working, I went home and disconnected all the cables to make a neater job of the wiring and setup the my 14Ah second battery, borrowed from my Forza, in parallel. This is currently fitted in an Ezee battery bag and as a semi permanent measure I have connected an MCB as an on/off switch. This arrangement works perfectly too.
I get quite few stares from adults, but on at least 3 occasions, little kids shouted "Wow, that's a cool bike mister", kids know a thing or two and aren't afraid to say it
Click here for a slideshow http://www.flickr.com/photos/30274699@N08/sets/72157625231237472/show/
To start with, I have not actually built anything, just added a readily available electric kit to a readily available trike. Non of it is rocket science, but I am very pleased with the result.
My first decision was to buy a trike then source a kit. I read quite a lot about recumbent trikes and decided on a 'tadpole', configuration i.e. 2 wheels in front and one at the rear, this has the obvious advantage of 2 wheel steering . The other option would have been a 'delta', i.e. 2 rear wheels and 1 front wheel, this would have meant either driving both back wheels through a drive shaft or a motorised front wheel doing the steering as well. This just didn't appeal to me and I felt it would have been less stable than a tadpole.
Next, do I buy a used trike or go for new one. Recumbents are not cheap, even second hand. I eventually chose a T W Bents Artifice model, a steel framed tadpole made in Taiwan http://www.twbents.com.tw/HTM/artifice.htm. A top quality trike from I.C.E. or HP Velotechnik could have easily cost double and more than the whole project. I set myself a budget which I have managed to keep to, the Artifice cost £1150 and that was a special deal with http://www.buybuybicycles.com/recumbent_trikes.html, thanks for your help Zena. Originally I wanted a yellow frame, thank goodness they were out of stock, it would have looked awful with all the black cabling and components.
OK, I assembled the trike from the box of bits in an afternoon, no more difficult than putting Ikea furniture together, thinking about it, the trike was probably easier and whole lot more fun. Then I went for a 10 minute test ride to see if everything worked and parked it in the garage feeling even more excited about the project.
Now more choices to be made, which kit to go for? Bionx was ruled out immediately due to cost and although my PL350 powered MTB was both fast and powerful, I reckon that very expensive 10Ah battery would limit range and there is no way of adding a backup or parallel battery with the Bionx system.
I did consider a direct drive Magic Pie kit by Goldenmotor, but poor reliability and performance meant I wasn't taking that route either.
An 8 Fun Bafang 350w motor was a consideration, but sourcing all the parts proved fruitless and it would not have been possible to fit a 9 speed freewheel along with other considerations.
Finally after much research, I took the Ezee route. I have owned several Ezee bikes and they are hard to beat in my opinion. It had been in my mind all along to choose an Ezee kit, everything about it was just right, a US spec 350 watt 250 RPM rear motor kit built into a 26" wheel with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre and delivering all the torque I would need, the latest Ezee controller, pedelec sensor, Ezee Assist Factor control, a Dual Battery Extension Rack together with an Ezee 8.5Ah LiFePO4 battery, an 11 to 32 tooth 9 speed freewheel sprocket and a Cycle Analyst V2.2.
The support and advice from Wai Won Ching (Chief Ezee Power) was invaluable, a true gentleman, I can't thank him enough for taking the time to respond to a string of emails. Originally, I wanted a throttle, but he advised against it and recommended the EAF instead, how right he was. He also recommended the LiFePO4 battery to run in parallel with my 14Ah, right again.
When I had all the parts, I sat down and planned the installation, the sequence to do it in and position of the components.
First the rear wheel and motor, it fitted first time exactly, no stretching or compressing of the dropouts and very snug tight fit with no filling necessary.
Then came the positioning of the controller and I think I found the right spot as can see (link to photos at the end of this thread), all cables lead to the controller, so it's position is crucial, next was the Cycle Analyst, followed by the EAF and the rear battery rack.
Next I connected all the cables and tied them in place, by the way you can't get the connections wrong as each connecting plug is different, fitted the LiFePO4 battery and the moment of truth had arrived, would it all work?
I could see no reason why not, but I am never 100% sure about anything, pessimists are never disappointed.
Anyhow, I switched the battery on and grinned from ear to ear when the Cycle Analyst lit up and without hesitating jumped on, or rather sat in a went for a spin, my grin got bigger and bigger, it was brilliant after I was sure everything was working, I went home and disconnected all the cables to make a neater job of the wiring and setup the my 14Ah second battery, borrowed from my Forza, in parallel. This is currently fitted in an Ezee battery bag and as a semi permanent measure I have connected an MCB as an on/off switch. This arrangement works perfectly too.
I get quite few stares from adults, but on at least 3 occasions, little kids shouted "Wow, that's a cool bike mister", kids know a thing or two and aren't afraid to say it
Click here for a slideshow http://www.flickr.com/photos/30274699@N08/sets/72157625231237472/show/
